CHILDREN have committed hundreds of drug crimes in Dorset in less than a decade, figures show.

Thousands of child drug offences are recorded by police every year in England and Wales – but critics of drug prohibition warn giving a youngster a criminal record can negatively impact their future.

Ministry of Justice figures show 83 cautions or convictions were handed down to youngsters in Dorset over drug crimes in 2020-21, with the punishments among 583 recorded since records began in 2013-14.

Since then, under-18s across England and Wales have been cautioned or convicted over drugs almost 48,000 times – punishments that could have life-long consequences, according to campaigners calling for reform.

Nationally, 4,000 drug offences were committed by children during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, despite national lockdowns and other measures contributing to a significant fall in overall crime rates.

It meant 10.3% of all childhood offending in England and Wales was connected to drugs in 2020-21 – the highest proportion on record, despite a 58% drop in youth-related crime since 2013-14.

Across the area covered by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, drug crimes represented 16% of the total 504 proven offences that resulted in a conviction or caution for children last year.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “Dorset Police works relentlessly to prevent children from becoming involved with drugs. We also ensure that children are safeguarded and aware of the harm that drugs can cause.

“The number of children given cautions or convictions for offences involving drugs in Dorset has remained relatively low over the years, but we will continue in our efforts to reduce this activity.

“It is worth noting that a child is anyone under the age of 18 years old and there is considerable variation between a young child and a teenager.

“In order to prevent children from committing drugs crimes, our Safer Schools and Communities Team works closely with schools across the county to support teachers and provides education to children and young people about drugs and the law, as well as how drug-related activity can be linked to child exploitation and county lines.

“The team also provides a high-visibility presence in the schools for children if they need to speak with a member of the police.

“The Youth Justice Team will review all crimes that require a youth out of court disposal decision, which includes not only cautions and conditional cautions, but also disposals such as a Youth Diversion and Youth Restorative Disposals.

“All youth out of court disposal decisions are made after consultation with the Youth Justice Service and Early Help. If a child or young person receives a disposal, they will be referred to a drug outreach service, who make contact separately with the child or young person involved.

“Education regarding drugs and the law is also given to all young people who receive a youth out of court disposal.

“We also build and maintain an intelligence picture of children that are involved, or suspected to be involved, in drugs and associated county lines activity.

“Any child that has been identified will be referred internally for ongoing engagement and risk management with our partner agencies. We will ensure that any risk surrounding a child is appropriately flagged so that all relevant staff are aware and can help work with that child to safeguard them.

“We will continue to engage with children and make them aware of the dangers of taking drugs and the associated offending that can be linked with doing so.”

A Government spokesperson said it was combining tough enforcement with early intervention programmes and investing £200m in its Youth Endowment Fund to divert children from crime.

It is establishing an evidence base to better understand how to prevent children from taking drugs but has no plans to decriminalise drug possession, saying it would not eliminate the crime or address the harms associated with drug dependence.

A 2018 NHS report found that a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds surveyed in England that year said they had taken drugs, including 38% of 15-year-olds.

And separate figures show concerns over a child's misuse of drugs was a factor in 27,000 assessments of children in need across England in 2020-21.